New Grant to Examine the Costs of Public Access to Research Data

The Realities of Academic Data Sharing (RADS) Initiative enters its second phase of research to examine institutional expenses in support of publicly shared research data. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded the Association of Research Libraries, in collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Minnesota, and Duke University, all of whom are members of the Data Curation Network, a $741,921 National Leadership Grant.

Jennifer Moore, head of Data Services, at Washington University Libraries, is a member of the project’s research team, along with representatives from the other partner institutions. The project aims to create a deeper understanding of investments and expenses incurred by academic institutions to facilitate open science and public access to research data.

 “This grant will us allow to dig deeper into our research on data sharing costs at WashU, as well as expand the sample to include more institutions. With requirements around data sharing becoming more stringent and the data landscape becoming more complex, this work is critical,” said Moore.

Washington University Libraries launched an upgraded data repository in May 2023 that offers enhanced public access data sharing capabilities, in response to new guidelines released by the White House Office of Science and Technology.

Read more about the grant in Association of Research Libraries News.